Republican northern light sparks up Southern town

Sarah Palin remains the hottest Republican ticket if the crowds and enthusiasm at her book signings are anything to go by.

On Friday she brought her “Going Rogue” book tour to Plano, an affluent town just north of Dallas that is in deeply red Republican country. About 1,500 people lined up for hours in the winter cold to wait for Palin’s bus. A lucky 1,000 among them had advance tickets to get their copy of her new autobiography signed.

The former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee clearly remains the northern light of the Republican Party that can spark up its Southern and conservative base. She now reigns almost unchallenged with this base after the apparent downfall of former Arkansas governor and Republican White House hopeful Mike Huckabee.

His political future was dealt a blow this week by the revelation that he had once pardoned the man who killed four police officers in Washington state on Sunday.

“I hope she makes a run for president, I wouldn’t hesitate to vote for her,” said Steve Yurasits, a 59-year-old school bus driver, expressing a sentiment shared by many in the crowd.

The whole event had a campaign kind of feel to it — the music, the bus, the crowd, the waving of Palin banners. And the book has reportedly sold 1 million copies already.

If this is indeed the unofficial start of her 2012 presidential run, then other Republicans may have to think about 2016 or beyond. Mitt Romney can only hope that his upcoming book, “No Apology,” is going to fly off the shelves like “Going Rogue” … .

Amazing job by Conservative Book Club, Newsmax, and Townhall. Ordering large quantities and then dumping them on the market as giveaways has forced all the retail booksellers to sell Palin’s book at a loss just to get them off the shelves. Walmart dropped price from list price of $28.99 to $10.00, then to $9.00 as other retailers matched it. After Amazon.com matched the price, Walmart lowered its price to $8.98. Target joined in the price war, prompting Walmart.com to drop its price further. The respective retailers were still selling the book at those prices as of November 16.
The far-right’s wingnut welfare strategy of pumping up the sales numbers of Palin’s Masterpiece has turned “Going Rogue” into “Going Broke” for the honest merchants who are trying to make a profit in the free market.

Fantastic job by the conservative book clubs and websites. Buying Palin’s book before its release to the public and flooding the market with free copies has forced the retailers who carry it on their shelves to sell it at below their cost just to move inventory. This gives the impression that the book is a Best Seller when it’s actually a Best Freebie.

For the businesses who carry it, however, the title is not “Going Rogue”, it’s “Going Broke.”

Walmart, Target and Amazon are hardly conservative. “Going Rogue” is still the in the number one spot and it isn’t being given away for free. Walmart and Target aren’t giving the books away for free either.

The critics are predictably full steam ahead with the right wing conspiracies. They have no rational answer to people who are successful and a threat to their way of life.

Walmart, Target, and Amazon are selling Going Rogue at a loss because Conservative Book Club, Townhall, and Newsmax have flooded the market with free copies. Sarah Palin has not really written a best seller. The sales numbers do not reflect an accurate number of people who really care what she writes; it only reflects the willingness of the extreme right-wing to prop up her numbers with their own money.

All these ultra right-wing authors, Ann Coulter, Jonah Goldberg, Glenn Beck, would never make any list at all if it weren’t for the Richard Mellon Scaifes and Rupert Murdochs who fund them, and everyone, including you, TC, knows it.

Sounds like the magazines people subscribe to are a stroke of genius on the part of the magazine marketers. They still aren’t free because the magazines buy the books and use them as a way to “increase” new subscribers. It’s a win win for everyone. Palin and the publisher get millions and the magazines get a huge increase in subscribers. And all because Sarah Palin has a blockbuster bestseller people want to read and to know more about her. BTW, polls show Palin and Obama are virtually tied in approval (within one point). Yeah, try to spin that one.

If this wasn’t true, then the magazines wouldn’t offer it to new subscribers.

So, your point is really not relevant and is just sour grapes at someone who is successful. Her book is a huge bestseller and everyone wants in on the action.

BTW, at our local Costco, I remember Hillary Clinton’s book sitting there with no one interested in it. However, Sarah Palin’s book is hard to keep on the table as shoppers put copies in their carts.

The progressive authors aren’t anywhere to be seen on any bestseller list. Guess no one wants to lose money, so they aren’t added as an incentive to purchase magazines. Ask Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Ted Kennedy and even Barak Obama how many copies they sold. You can probably add them all together and still not equal Palin’s book sales in one week alone.